THE mother of murdered Donegal woman Danielle McLaughlin has hit out at the Irish embassy in India.
Andrea McLaughlin branded the embassy as ‘absolutely useless’ in supporting her through the ordeal.
Buncrana woman Danielle McLaughlin (28) was visiting Goa when she was attacked and murdered. Her body was found on 14th March 2017.
Vikat Bhagat, who stands accused of killing the young Donegal woman, was last month refused bail by an Indian court.
Baghat applied for bail and citied a ‘bleak likelihood of a trial taking place in the near future due to the prevailing pandemic condition’.
Andrea McLaughlin opposed the bail application for Bhagat, who is accused of the rape and murder of Danielle.
The trial was due to resume on July 14, but was subject to further delay
“It’s taking longer because of Covid – it’s on for 30 minutes maximum, once or twice a month,” Andrea McLaughlin, speaking to Newstalk, said.
The late Danielle McLaughlin.
“I’ll be honest with you, the Irish embassy has been absolutely useless from day one.
“Even regarding the bail hearing, that was on a Wednesday, they didn’t contact me to tell me until the Thursday evening.
“I would like if I could view the court case, because I don’t know what it looks like. I know a few people, Irish people and Americans, went to the court and told me what’s going on a few times – that’s the only way we knew what was happening in court.
“I would like to view it and I’ve asked numerous times can I view it and I even said I would sit in a Garda station so that it wouldn’t be passed on to anybody else and I’ve been told no.
‘He [Bhagat] can, at the moment due to Covid, he can do it from jail to the courthouse, but I can’t.”
Danielle was reportedly attacked with a stone and was found lying in a pool of blood without clothes with injuries to her head and face.
The late Danielle McLaughlin
A post-mortem concluded that McLaughlin died due to brain damage and constriction of the neck.
Andrea recalled the horrific moments of the fateful day in March 2017 when she learned that her beloved daughter had died.
She said: “She hadn’t been in contact all day on March 14.
“I kind of had a bad feeling, but I didn’t, because I thought she would do it eventually, that she was out drinking the day before because she was on holiday – I thought that it had just slipped her mind.
“That night there was a knock at the door. It was Danielle’s best friend and her mum and that’s when I knew there was something wrong.
“I have never been told officially that Danielle was murdered, ever. I’m the one who told them all from the start.
“Because it was 8.30pm I didn’t know what to do so Danielle’s older sister called the guards and the guards came out and she sent them photographs in emails for them to try and find out.
“Papers were reporting it, but we never had it confirmed.”
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